Category: News

Keep drugs off our Rez: Youth participate in drug prevention walk

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States recorded 42,249 deaths in the year of 2016 due to opioid overdose, surpassing the amount of deaths caused by breast cancer which is estimated at 41,070 each year. Between July 2016 and September 2017, the amount of deaths by opioid overdose increased by thirty percent. The opioid epidemic is still escalating throughout the nation and has claimed more American lives in 2017 alone than the Vietnam War, which reported 58,220 causalities over the course of twenty years. Although the CDC has yet to officially release the 2017 statistics, the projected amount of deaths by heroin, prescription opioids and fentanyl is said to be close to 70,000 fatalities. 

The crisis is hard to ignore, especially when it’s happening within our own community. The Washington State Department of Health reports that approximately 3,000 deaths can be credited to drug overdose annually, which is thirty-one percent of all deaths statewide. Snohomish County, namely the Everett-Marysville-Tulalip area, sees perhaps one of the largest amounts of drug-related casualties in the state with around seven hundred deaths per year. 

Over recent years, the Tulalip Tribes has fought back strongly against the opioid epidemic, implementing several programs, departments, forums, and events as well as the wellness court system. The tribe has been actively dedicated to healing their people who are battling with addiction and continue searching for a solution to the crisis. Most recently, during the mid-morning of July 26, the Tulalip 477/TANF department organized a walk against drugs with their Summer Youth Community Service program, comprised of thirty local kids between the ages of eleven and thirteen who wanted to spread awareness for those struggling and help bring an end to drug addiction. 

“We worked on our signs all day yesterday, just for the walk today,” says community service participant, Stanley Nguyen. “We walked from the old school all the way up to [the Tulalip Administration Building] and we’re trying to stop drug abuse and get drugs off the rez because they can kill people.”

Drivers emphatically honked their horns for the kids as they proudly displayed their handmade posters during the prevention walk. Their signs displayed a variety of strong messages such as ‘your family needs you’ and ‘heal the hurt, don’t hide the pain,’ attempting to spread their words to local addicts. A few kids also used their signs to urge any drug distributors to ‘stop selling drugs to my people’ and to ‘keep drugs off our rez!’

“My sign says, drugs equal death so stop!” expressed young Taleen Enick. “I felt people needed to know to stop doing drugs, it can harm them and they can probably die from it. If they keep doing it, they can overdose. That’s why I want people to know we need to keep drugs off our rez and that we need to help our people to stop doing drugs.”

The six-week community service program helps kids prepare for the Tulalip Youth Services Summer Youth Employment Program which is open to kids between the age of fourteen and eighteen. Throughout the community service course, the young adults learn about their treaty rights, Tulalip’s history and future, bullying prevention, suicide prevention, drug and alcohol prevention, healthy habits and financial education. The program is currently in its second year and dedicates every Thursday to a community service activity such as beach clean-ups and the prevention walk.

“There’s a lot of people driving by, hopefully it gives addicts some hope that live around here,” says TANF Case Manager, Danielle Hill. “The kids all created their own posters and a lot of them had some good words to share. We’re hoping this helps them steer clear from drugs and alcohol in the future especially when they’re dealing with peer pressure.”

The kids ended the prevention walk at the newly constructed walkway below the Tulalip Admin Building and held their posters up high for passersby to see while on their daily commute. The youth posted up through the lunch hour, waiving their signs and received great response from the tribal employees on their way to appease their appetites. 

 “I think our message will help people, I really do,” says Taleen. “If they see our signs today, maybe they’ll be inspired to reach out and help somebody they know who’s been using drugs. What I liked best about today was all the people honking. That shows that they care as well and are doing their part to help out too.”

Water Notice for Tulalip Utility Customers

It has come to that time when we need to conserve our water and enforce a community watering  schedule. The watering schedule will be in effect starting July 30, 2018. Schedule is as follows, according to your house number:

Odd numbers will water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday

Even numbers will water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday

NO watering on Fridays

We also ask that you try to conserve water as much as possible by hand watering plants, washing your vehicles at local car washes and limit the filling of swimming pools.

There will be consequences if you are watering on a non-scheduled watering day. The offenses are as follows (TTC 13.85):

  • 1stoffense: Warning notice
  • 2nd offense: $100 fine added to your bill
  • 4th offense: Water will be turned off. Owners responsibility to pay $250 re-connect fee

Please, if you see anyone watering on a non-scheduled day or have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Tulalip Tribes Utilities at 360-716-4840.

 

The Treaty of Point Elliott: A living document

ON THE TREATY FRONT: A new monthly series on the history and meaning of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, environmental stewardship and issues that threaten these important rights. This is just the first in a recurring series of articles produced by the Tulalip Tribes Treaty Rights Office to help educate and inform the membership. Our Mission is to “Protect, enhance, restore and ensure access to the natural resources necessary for Tulalip Tribal Members’ long-term exercise of our treaty-reserved rights.” 

Longhouse Chiefs.

Submitted by Ryan Miller, Tulalip Tribal Member, Treaty Rights Office

As members of the Tulalip Tribes, we hear the words “treaty rights” and “sovereignty” all the time. There is no doubt that to each of us they mean something different, yet there are some core principles that stem from these phrases. 

Sovereignty is the right to self-determination and self-governance. A sovereign government has the right to govern without outside interference from other groups. Our people were born sovereign as the first nations of this land.

This is of course complex, and so are the tribes’ relationships with other governments. We know that we do not govern without interference from outside forces, especially the federal government. The federal government’s policy regarding tribal rights continues to change and has a significant impact on tribes throughout the country. We’ll discuss more issues around tribal sovereignty in a future article.

The second important thing to define is a treaty. A treaty is a legally binding contract between two or more sovereign nations. It outlines the role each side will play in the future of the relationship and sometimes includes the reasons why they have entered into agreement with one another. Treaty rights are generally considered to be the rights reserved by tribes through treaty and are sometimes called “un-ceded rights” which reflects their existence prior to treaty signing.

There were five treaties made with northwest Washington tribes; the Treaty of Point Elliott, the Treaty of Point-No-Point, the Treaty of Neah Bay, the Medicine Creek Treaty, and the Treaty with the Quinault. Compared generally to treaties signed with many tribes to the east of Washington they are much more favorable (that is not to say that tribes did not bear an unfair burden of sacrifice). Part of the reason for more favorable treaties is that the United States had a comparatively small standing army, just 15,911 enlisted men, which were tasked with covering a huge geographical area. They did not have the resources to fight wars with a number of tribes in a far off corner of the country. As a result, Governor Isaac Stevens was assigned to make peace and enter into treaties with northwest tribes in order to secure land for settlers in the Washington Territories.

When our ancestors signed the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, the federal government, through its territorial Governor, Isaac I. Stevens, affirmed that the tribes had the inherent right to self-governance and self-determination as outlined in the excerpt from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Worcester V Georgia,

  “The Indian nations had always been considered as distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights, as the undisputed possessors of the soil, from time immemorial,…The very term “nation,” so generally applied to them, means “a people distinct from others.” The constitution, by declaring treaties already made, as well as those to be made, to be the supreme law of the land, has adopted and sanctioned the previous treaties with the Indian nations, and consequently admits their rank among those powers who are capable of making treaties.” 

Congress itself defines treaties as the “supreme law of the land” and only signs treaties with other “nations” therefore recognizing tribes as nations and affirming that treaties supersede other laws such as those made by state governments. This excerpt also explains that the U.S. government understood that these rights were “natural rights” implying recognition of tribes’ existence as sovereigns before the creation of The United States. 

In the treaty, our ancestors made great sacrifices by ceding millions of acres of land for the promise of medical treatment, education, and permanent access to the resources they had always gathered, including across all of our ancestral lands that lie outside of the reservation.

Tulalip canoe.

Article Five of the treaty addresses the most commonly known and arguably most culturally important right, 

“The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purposes of curing, together with the privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed land.”

Though truthfully this article was never well defined in law until in 1974 when Judge George Boldt gave his decision in the landmark Indian law case US v Washington (commonly known as the Boldt Decision), where he affirmed what treaty tribes had already known: the phrase “in common with” was meant to be an equal sharing of the salmon runs minus the number of fish needed to spawn future generations.. This court decision, along with a series of subsequent decisions recognized tribes as having equal management authority with the State of Washington over natural resources. This has given tribes a significant role in how fisheries are managed as well as managing tribal hunting. Washington tribes have contributed greatly to the process of salmon recovery and restoration of critical habitats and species. Tulalip has also worked to conserve and enhance the plants and wildlife that our people need to continue to practice our traditional ways. 

Tribal and court interpretations of Article Five, secures tribal access to these resources until the end of time and recognizes that any entity whose actions diminish either these resources or our access to them violates the spirit and intent of the treaty. 

We know that the treaty is alive and well. It’s as important to us today is it was to our ancestors at the time of signing. We raise our hands to our ancestors and leaders past and present who fought and continue to fight to protect these rights and our way of life. 

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future subjects please send them to ryanmiller@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Thank you for reading and we’ll see you next month!

Teen CERT prepares youth for disaster, teaches cultural resiliency

Photo courtesy of Chelsea Treboniak, CriticalOps-Simplify Your Life

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

The first ever tribal Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training was held in Tulalip during the week of July 16-20. The Tulalip Office of Emergency Management reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Institute (FEMA), Critical Ops and Tulalip Youth Services to bring the trainings to the community. Teen CERT teaches the younger generation how to be adequately prepared for when a disaster strikes so they can help assist the elders, children, injured adults and expectant mothers while the professionals make their way to the reservation. Forty young adults attended the week-long training, thirty-four participants from Tulalip as well as six participants from the Quinault Indian Nation. 

As the saying goes, disaster is waiting to happen. Around the globe people are experiencing natural disasters at an alarming rate such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and a variety of storms (rain, wind, snow, thunder). In fact, according to a study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund, many of these occurrences are happening due to climate change caused by mankind and shouldn’t be considered ‘natural’ disasters at all. In the United States alone, three hundred and sixty-two deaths were attributed to extreme weather and climate disasters in 2017. Over the past few years, the state of Washington has also seen its fair share of climate disasters including the Oso landslide, springtime snow storms, summertime wildfires and the fall/winter windstorms. 

“When the windstorms come in September, October, November and trees topple over, we are disconnected from Marysville and other neighboring cities,” says Ashlynn Danielson, Tulalip Emergency Preparedness Manager. “We have a few ideas of how to create access, move brush and trees off the road but in the meantime we want to self-preserve and have a shelter in place. FEMA has not provided onsite trainers in Indian Country for a Teen CERT. Tribal Teen CERT has been asked about but has not been a project of this scale. We are kind of the showcase piece which makes everything very exciting.” 

Teen CERT is offered to youth across the nation in a number of communities and teaches students how to react and respond in emergency situations. The trainings cover everything from fire safety, medical operation and triage, team organization, utility control, damage assessment as well as search and rescue. 

“Just the thought of being there for my community in a time of need seems something like I could be really good at because I want to help,” expresses young Tulalip tribal member, Evalea Cortez. “I love learning something new. Eventually our parents and all the adults won’t be around forever and if there’s a disaster they’ll be busy helping out others so why not get the training to help them out. I feel like CERT really shows how important it is to be involved with your community and look out for each other.” 

The kids had a blast throughout the week and learned how to properly suppress small fires using an extinguisher and participated in an earthquake emergency drill. The Greg Williams Court appeared to be turned upside after a big quake. A few students were given roles and had to act as though they were at the gym when the earthquake occurred which resulted in a certain injury. The other CERT trainees waited outside and entered the gym after the earthquake and it was their job to correctly assess their classmate’s injuries and treat any immediate lesions until the medical and emergency response teams arrived. The students had also learned how to apply makeup to make it look as though they had a number of injuries, such as cuts and bruises. Kids then learned how to inspect their neighborhoods for extensive damage and how to fill out full detailed reports for the proper authorities.

The Tulalip Office of Emergency Management offers CERT Trainings twice a year to the adults of the community. CERT trainings are highly interactive and require over twenty hours of class participation. Because Teen CERT required forty participants, Tulalip reached out to other tribes to complete their enrollment requirement. Six members of the Quinault Indian Nation accepted Tulalip’s invitation and journeyed north for a week of fun, hands-on safety experience.

“I thought it would be interesting to learn about the first response trainings and get certified for CERT,” says Quinault member, Johnny Law. “I think it’s important because it helps you feel more attached to the land, to our land, and know how to take care of it and our people when a disaster happens. I hope to bring a better understanding to where I’m from just in case there’s an earthquake or tsunami because that would devastate everything down there.”

Tulalip also incorporated another training within the CERT classes that focused on cultural resiliency, teaching the kids the importance of traditional and family values. Jay LaPlante, FEMA Tribal Relation Specialist taught the kids about the medicine wheel and the importance of self-care and community involvement.

“CERT itself is a three-day training and focuses on emergency response,” says Jay. “The reason I added the two-day cultural resiliency wellness training is because our people learn best when we have some type of relationship established. This training helps break down barriers, get to know themselves a little better and get centered with their own values. We always try to connect what we do today with what our ancestors wanted for us and also with the future generations. So we want to make sure these young people know that their ancestors were thinking about them hundreds of years ago so they can connect with what their ancestors wanted and live by those values.”

“We learned about the medicine wheel today,” states Tulalip tribal member, Kaiser Moses. “So that’s spiritual, mental, physical and emotional and that’s really important to factor into your daily life. They teach you fundamental things like how to take care of yourself and your neighbors. I signed up for CERT because I want to learn how to react in an emergency. I feel like after this training, I’ll be more prepared in the event of an emergency and that’s really reassuring.”

All forty students completed the trainings and are now certified CERT members. The Tulalip Office Emergency Management hopes to continue to offer Teen CERT after a successful first year and inspire other tribes to bring the trainings to the youth of their communities. 

“As Native people we are very resilient, very community based and likeminded,” says Ashlynn. “The importance of bringing Teen CERT and the cultural resiliency trainings to the reservation is because it helps us self-identify with our culture. Ultimately, we want them to be able to provide for each other and their families and know where to go in the event of an emergency and how to get to those critical supplies. At the end of the day, our end goal is that we can take all of our information and replicate it for other tribes and help all of the tribal nations become more resilient.”

The Tulalip Office of Emergency Management will continue hosting their regularly scheduled CERT trainings, the next one held this upcoming fall.  For further details, please contact the Office of Emergency Management at (360) 716-4006.

Lushootseed Camp, week two: more youth, more culture

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News; Photos by Micheal Rios & Natosha Gobin

During week one of the 23rd Annual Lushootseed Day Camp, there were 58 youth participants. Engagement and overall involvement increased significantly during week two, as 72 Children of the Salmon contributed to the cultural sharing and commitment to Lushootseed.

“It makes my heart happy seeing so many of our young ones learning our traditional language,” boasts Michele Balagot, Lushootseed Manager. “It is amazing to witness the amount of participation and community involvement we receive each year.”

From Monday July 16 to Friday July 20, the Kenny Moses Building was home to the children learning traditional teachings, listening to storytelling by elders, and using their creative minds to create and paint an assortment of giveaway items. It’s a time that Tulalip children, families and community look forward to as it provides them an opportunity to immerse themselves in Lushootseed and the rich culture of the Coast Salish people.

Open to children age five to twelve who want to learn about their culture and the language of their ancestors, Lushootseed Camp provides invaluable traditional teachings through art, songs, technology, weaving and storytelling. Each year the Lushootseed Department teams up with Cultural Resources, along with a select number of vital community volunteers, to hold two one-week day camps in the summer. 

“So proud of my fellow Language Warriors for putting together some amazing lessons, proud of our volunteers for stepping up to help us along the way, and proud of our community who supported our efforts by allowing their kids to participate,” said Language Warrior Natosha Gobin. “Most importantly, we are so proud of our youth, about 130 total, who rised up over the past two weeks. They learned so many traditional teachings and are eager to keep them alive.”

With a high turnout in camp participation came an equally impressive turnout in community volunteers who assisted Lushootseed staff to coordinate daily camp activities. There were 15 volunteers readily available on a daily basis to help camp run smoothly.

Throughout the duration of camp, the children participated in seven different daily stations or activities. The following list is what each child accomplished throughout the week:

  • Art – Succulents, clam shell rattles, clam shell succulent holders.
  • Weaving – God’s Eye, bracelets.
  • Songs – Paddle Song, Berry Picking Song, Welcome Song, Kenny Moses’ Arrival Song, Martha Lamont’s huyəxw st’ilib 
  • Traditional Teachings – Canoes, Canoe Journey protocol
  • Language – Lushootseed alphabet, canoe terms.
  • Technology – children learned and practiced Lushootseed materials related their final performance using handheld games on Tablets created by Dave Sienko.

Every station and daily lesson incorporated various Canoe Journey teachings and protocol verbiage. With the annual tribal Canoe Journey going on now, it made for an ideal time to teach the youngsters about the tradition.

“We wanted to take this opportunity to give our young ones as much teachings as possible,” explained Language Warrior Roselle Fryberg. “It was really important to us to teach them about hosting a potlatch and coming together as a community. For our mini Canoe Journey, each child plays a role. We have fisherman, berry pickers, tribal leaders hosting Canoe Journey, and several canoes representing visiting tribes. 

“We also talked about how grateful we are that they are here to carry on these traditions of singing, dancing, and speaking their ancestral language. One day, all these teachings will be on their shoulders to carry on and pass to the next generation,” added Roselle. 

The closing ceremony for week two’s camp took place on Friday, July 20 at the Kenny Moses Building. The joyous, young play-performers made their theatrical debut to a large community attendance, as family and friends came out in droves to show their support.

Most of the children beamed with joy as they performed their roles in the closing ceremony, while some caught the shy bug being in front of such a large audience. There were several Lushootseed songs everyone was able to sing along together, giving family and friends plenty of opportunities to capture such precious moments on photos or video. 

“We would like to thank the children for all of their hard work and efforts,” proclaimed Natosha Gobin during the play’s opening. “They attended camp for just one week and learned so much about their culture, traditions, language, and more. They do not hesitate to step up and share their teachings. 

“We thank you, the parents, for joining us to celebrate the work the children have accomplished this week. Your presence here for the children will encourage their learning of their culture and traditional language.”

Lushootseed Camp Language Warriors.

After the youth performed their rendition of “Mini Canoe Journey” and the ceremonial witnesses had shared a few words, there was a giveaway. The camp participants gave their handmade crafts created during the past week to each and every audience member; sharing in a final act of memory making with their peers, before filling their bellies with a salmon lunch. 

Indian Landowners Workshop, July 30

This is open to anyone that wants to attend. Do you own trust land, DO you have questions or issues pertaining to your trust land or allotments either on Tulalip Reservation or other Reservations? This is the class to come and ask industry experts.

Terry and Lela Beckwith have spent the past thirty plus years working in Tribal Realty all over the county and have been travelling the country bringing that knowledge to Tribal Governments and its peoples.

The workshop will be an overview of leasing, rights of way and the importance of making a will and how to keep the land in the family for generations. You may bring your issues the this session and feel free to bring any supporting documents or maps with you.

Location of event will be Tulalip Administration Building – 6406 Marine Dr. Tulalip, WA. 98271

No need to RSVP ~ Coffee and Refreshments will be provided

Learning Lushootseed while exploring Canoe Journey tradition

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The week of July 9-13 was full of pleasantly warm and sunny summer days in the Pacific Northwest. Inside the Kenny Moses Building, even more beams of sunshine could be found radiating from the energetic faces of 58 children participating in the 23rd Annual Lushootseed Day Camp, week one.

Open to children age five to twelve who want to learn about their culture and the language of their ancestors, Lushootseed Camp provides invaluable traditional teachings through art, songs, technology, weaving and storytelling. Each year the Lushootseed Department teams up with Cultural Resources, along with a select number of vital community volunteers, to hold two one-week day camps in the summer. 

“It makes my heart happy seeing so many of our young ones learning our traditional language,” boasts Michele Balagot, Lushootseed Manager. “It is amazing to witness the amount of participation and community involvement we receive each year.”

With a high turnout in camp participation came an equally impressive turnout in community volunteers who assisted Lushootseed staff to coordinate daily camp activities. There were 15 volunteers readily available on a daily basis to help camp run smoothly.

Throughout the duration of camp, the children participated in seven different daily stations or activities. The following list is what each child accomplished throughout the week:

  • Art – Succulents, clam shell rattles, clam shell succulent holders.
  • Weaving – God’s Eye, bracelets.
  • Songs – Paddle Song, Berry Picking Song, Welcome Song, Kenny Moses’ Arrival Song, Martha Lamont’s huyəxw st’ilib
  • Traditional Teachings – Canoes, Canoe Journey protocol
  • Language – Lushootseed alphabet, canoe terms.
  • Technology – children learned and practiced Lushootseed materials related their final performance using handheld games on Tablets created by Dave Sienko.

Every station and daily lesson incorporated various Canoe Journey teachings and protocol verbiage. With the annual tribal Canoe Journey going on now, it made for an ideal time to teach the youngsters about the tradition.

The closing ceremony for week one’s camp took place on Friday, July 13 at the Kenny Moses Building. The joyous, young play-performers made their theatrical debut to a large community attendance, as family and friends came out in droves to show their support.

“We would like to thank the children for all of their hard work and efforts,” proclaimed Language Warrior Natosha Gobin during the play’s opening. “They attended camp for just one week and learned so much about their culture, traditions, language, and more. They do not hesitate to step up and share their teachings. 

“We thank you, the parents, for joining us to celebrate the work the children have accomplished this week,” added Natosha. “Your presence here for the children will encourage their learning of their ancestral language.”

After the youth performed their rendition of “Mini Canoe Journey” and the ceremonial witnesses had shared a few words, there was a giveaway. The camp participants gave handmade crafts to each and every audience member, which preceded a buffet-style lunch featuring salmon.

Local youth learn about marine life at Fish Camp

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

On the early morning of July 10, twelve local youth met at the Kenny Moses Building to begin an adventure of a lifetime, a five-day excursion to Lopez Island. Traditionally, the Snohomish people would travel to the San Juan Islands on fishing trips and set up camp on beautiful summer nights. The Tulalip Natural Resources department set out to recreate that experience for the youth by debuting Fish Camp this summer, offered to kids between the ages of eleven and fourteen.

“Fish camp is an addition to our Mountain Camp that we’ve been doing for three years now,” explains Tulalip Natural Resources Outreach & Education Coordinator, Kelly Finley. “During Mountain Camp we take the kids up to the swədaʔx̌ali area, which is a traditional area that they don’t necessarily to get a chance to connect to in modern times. We decided to add on Fish Camp, a place where kids can also reconnect to a traditional area that everyone used to come to and that has a lot of history for Tulalip.”

The first-of-its-kind summer camp takes kids on a journey across the Salish Sea to Lopez Island, one of the many San Juan islands that Tulalip ancestors used to seine-fish. The Point Elliot Treaty of 1855 guaranteed the Tribe’s right to fish in usual and accustomed areas and in 1975, the United States reaffirmed those rights to Northwest tribal members during the historic Boldt Decision. Fish Camp allows the youth to connect to the waters that provided plentiful resources for the Tribe and to learn about the history of their people, all while taking in the many breathtaking views that Lopez has to offer.

After arriving on the island, by way of a Washington State ferry, the kids set up camp at the opposite end of the island on a private beach overlooking Watmough Bay. Once settled in, the campers participated in the first evening circle of the week, getting to know each other a little better before calling it a night. 

The second day began bright and early with a two-hour clam dig followed by cedar-basket weaving in the afternoon, led by the Rediscovery Program’s Virginia Jones. Once the campers completed their baskets, they were joined by a number of guests including tribal member, Tony Hatch. He helped the kid’s setup their very own clambake, using the clams the campers dug in the morning as well as fresh shellfish caught traditionally with seine nets. 

“I got to eat some delicious clams and shrimp made on rocks,” exclaims young camper, Seth Montero. “What we did is stuck wood on the rocks and set a fire, got rid of the wood and used the rocks to steam the clams and shrimp. They were delicious, the clams opened up when they were ready to eat. I was just scooping away until I got full. We also got to weave baskets earlier, like about cup holder size. [Virginia] gave us a health kit with all of these cool herbal medicines and it was nice because some of them are going to be very useful.”

Before wrapping up an exciting day full of cultural events, the campers were treated to traditional Tulalip stories by Lushootseed Language Teacher, Michelle Myles, who is also a parent of camper, Jacynta Myles-Gilford.

“Every year for the last three years, I come out and stay a night with the kids and tell traditional stories at Mountain Camp,” says Michelle. “The stories that were told at this camp were about sea life, since this is the first year for Fish Camp. I think it’s a wonderful thing because it gets them away from the technology. The majority of the time the kids are on their phones so this allows them to enjoy nature as we did when we were children. It’s also important because this is tribal land. Both camps are on tribal land, so if they know about these places now, maybe when they get older they’ll be able to come out here and hang out with their families and share their experience from camp.”

On their third day at Lopez, the campers joined Natural Resources for a hike and a history lesson at Iceberg Point to kick their day off.  The crew then journeyed to Mackaye Harbor where they learned about different aquatic animals by Tulalip Shellfish Biologist Max Lundquist, who dove into the waters to retrieve a number of crabs and starfish. The kids got an up-close look at the sea creatures before releasing them back into the harbor. 

“See that? There’s a sea anemone, just like on Finding Nemo,” pointed out young tribal member and camper, Kane Hots, to his friends while looking at the assortment of critters below the Mackaye Harbor docks. “This is pretty cool, I can’t tell what’s more fun, Fish Camp or Mountain Camp – and I like Mountain Camp a lot.”

A few months ago, the Natural Resources team reached out to Camp Canoe, a French language camp located on a private island off of Lopez, to see if they were willing to host Fish Camp. Due to prior engagements, Camp Canoe was unable to hold Tulalip’s camp on their island as they were hosting their own camp the same week. Camp Canoe, however, graciously offered the fish campers an afternoon of snorkeling and paddle boarding off the coast of their island, where speed boats, sailboats and ferries could be seen passing nearby. 

“When I went snorkeling, I got to go see a lot of different animals,” recalls Seth. “I saw a great sculpin; it was pretty cool. And I also got to hold a crab and saw lots of starfish, all different colors mostly purple though. It was kind of cold but a lot of fun.”

The last days of camp included a morning of kayaking and an evening of free time where the campers got to enjoy each other’s company before leaving Lopez Island. Many of the youth expressed that they didn’t know any of their fellow campers before the start of Fish Camp, but were happy to create unforgettable memories together while learning about marine life in local, traditional waters.

“It feels good to meet kids from different schools and make friends with everybody,” Seth says. “Hopefully we’ll see each other a lot more in the future because Fish Camp has been really fun and awesome together.”

Natural Resources will host the annual Tulalip Tribes Youth Mountain Camp on August 6-11, and look forward to hosting many more Fish Camps in years to come. For more information, please contact the Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources Department at (360) 716-4617.